House Lang
Once a house of nobility within the Sith Empire, House Lang was a wealthy family with holdings across Imperial Space extending into the Mid and Inner Rims. While much of House Lang's original wealth derived from the harvest and manipulation of obsidian from mines on the planet Hallion, the noble house was renowned for its investments into the Imperial Reclamation Service. As a reward for its generosity, House Lang received a number of artifacts from successful archeological digs. As a House of the Midnight Order, House Lang's interests remained fairly consistent as it assumed the position of potentially the wealthiest estate on the Council. Their motives were questioned almost immediately upon joining the Midnight Order due to the destructive actions of Dread Master Senna who had, at one point, been a member of House Lang. It remained one of the least trusted Houses in the Midnight Order, albeit a dangerous one to cross. History House Lang had always held popularity among its peers in the upper tiers of Imperial society. With its work with obsidian at the core of its wealth, the House had a number of processing facilities that worked the mineral into weapons, armor, decorations, furniture and more. Such items were greatly coveted by the Imperial social elite, many of whom were willing to pay top dollar for the craftsmanship of Lang workers. The planet Hallion proved to be Lang's greatest asset in this endeavor as it was a fairly vacant planet with a vast supply of obsidian ripe for the taking. Such finds were appealing to the House and its members and, as such, they made generous investments to the Imperial Reclamation Service, a branch of the Empire that would often stumble across such sites in their search for the secrets of the past. These investments proved lucrative for House Lang as many other resources were uncovered through the years. The house took advantage of their special relationship for many decades until a young member of the family named Tarvor accompanied one of the reclamation teams to the site of a dig the family had invested in. During his time with the archeologists, Tarvor discovered a passion for the secrets of the past, the potential of finding lost cultures and learning how dead societies had once thrived where now there were only ruins. Much to his family's disapproval, he enlisted with the Service upon his return home to Dromund Kaas and spent the remainder of his life immersed in the artifacts that captivated him so. Occasionally, he would find a relic from the past that intrigued him to the point where he couldn't let it go. With his family's vast wealth, he purchased such artifacts and brought them home with him to be a part of his personal collection. Every new artifact added to his collection proved a new adventure for him to tell his children of with each return home. This passion for archeology and love for lost knowledge became a part of the family that transcended time and lives on in the remaining members of House Lang. In its latter years, House Lang would continue to make large investments to the Empire, many of which ended up backing the war effort against the Republic. With the return of the Sith Empire to known space and the explosion of the Great Galactic War, Lord Tasus Lang found Dromund Kaas, the home that his family had occupied for generations, to be far too turbulent and militant for his liking. Using his House's resources and network of connections, he took his wife to Manaan where he constructed a large estate where they could live out their lives in peace, away from the fires of war. Several years after they had settled on Manaan, Tasus and Fenra gave birth to their first child, Senna, and their second not long afterward. The peace lasted for only a few years longer, until Senna began to display a strong connection to the force. Fenra begged her husband to keep his daughter's abilities a secret knowing that doing otherwise would lead to the dissolution of the life they had sought to gain on Manaan. Tasus relented for many years, but shortly after Senna's fourteenth year, pride overcame him and he reached out to the academy on Korriban anxious for them to see what his daughter was capable of. Sure enough, a representative of the academy arrived and found Senna to be a perfect candidate for the academy. He departed, taking the girl with him as her parents watched emotionally, holding their youngest daughter close. With Senna's departure, life at home was different with Fenra barely talking to Tasus and both neglecting their youngest daughter, Taraya. Taraya spent much of her time alone growing up until the rebellious teenager fled her parents' home to live her aunt and uncle who oversaw a mining operation on the planet Arkania. Three years later, Senna returned home to Manaan on orders from her Sith Master to eradicate her family. She did as she was instructed and slaughtered her mother and father before laying waste to the estate she had once called home. Word spread quickly of the demise of Tasus and Fenra. When word reached Pelegian on Arkania, he reacted in anger at the notion that the Empire cared so little for its citizens that even generous donors such as his brother and her wife became expendable to the whims of the Sith. He ordered his forces on Dromund Kaas to rig the family's ancestral estate to blow before committing his house and its resources to the Galactic Republic. In the years since joining with the Republic, Pelegian restored the estate on Manaan, but it remained unoccupied except as a retreat for the family. Military As a House of considerable wealth and moderate population, House Lang was able to support a substantial army consisting of both their own members, citizens of their world, and mercenaries. Upon being granted a seat upon the Council of the Midnight Order, Lord Pelaegean requested citizens of the newest world under his control, Caseyarus, be drafted into service in his army. The standing military force of House Lang largely served to protect its mining facilities and foundries spread across the galaxy, but a portion of it remained behind to protect the House's new homeworld. The military of House Lang was well-outfitted with decent armor and powerful weapons on top of being well trained. They were treated sternly, but fairly by their commanding officers and the House provided higher quality housing and food for all of their soldiers. Wealth Perhaps the wealthiest House in the Midnight Order, House Lang has mining operations and foundries established across the galaxy. Largely focused in the Outer Rim and Expansion Regions, House Lang's operations provided them with considerable wealth, which simultaneously enabled them to invest in other ventures including technological development and archeological endeavors. House Lang's estate on Manaan and their palace on Caseyarus were both heavily adorned with artifacts from their archeological digs, a point of pride for the Lords of the House dating back several generations. As a fairly old (former) Imperial noble House, Lang had over a century to build up their massive amount of wealth and treasure. They pledged to use their wealth for the betterment of the Order and aid of the other Houses. Culture It was fitting that Caseyarus was the planet assigned to House Lang given their hunger for the finer things in life. House Lang openly flaunted their wealth and what it could afford them. They enjoyed their position of status and were welcomed to Caseyarus with open arms by a majority of the population who believed that House Lang would increase the quantity of gold in their already bloated coffers. Lord Pelaegean, like his brother before him, had a deep respect for, and interest in, history and sought to understand the culture and background of every world he set foot upon. Unlike his brother however, he did not possess an obsession with dangerous Sith artifacts and the approval of Korriban. As a human house, Lang communicated in Galactic basic, but most members were well versed in a variety of languages.